In his latest Free Zone column, MMORPG.com's Richard Aihoshi talks about Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures. The article focuses on the growing trend in the MMOG space to create free-to-play, family-friendly, virtual worlds. Though a free to play element exists, there is also the budget (and family) friendly element of a low monthly subscription rate. Does SWCWA sit on the cutting edge of the next trend in the F2P market? Read Richard's thoughts and then weigh in with your own.

The umbrella reason I think this title could turn out to be pretty important is that it represents a number of major trends in the MMOG space. One it that while it's described as "a free-to-play family-friendly online virtual world", it's not F2P in the sense of having item sales as the sole means of revenue generation. Rather, it employs a business model that also incorporates a "Jedi membership" option, which is basically a $5.99 per month subscription. The main benefits include the ability to create characters of the Zabrak race (in addition to humans, clones and Twi'leks), enhanced character and house customizability, and access to VIP areas and events as well as member-only items.